I am a staff member at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg in the Atmospheric Physics of Exoplanets (APEx) department. I work on machine learning and statistical data analysis methods for inference in large astronomical data sets, and lead a group working on the development and application of these for Gaia. My interests include, among other things, nearby stars, the impact of astronomical phenomena on the Earth, and the physics of interstellar travel.